新奇事件簿 考拉抱树来降暑
Scientists have unlocked one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast new light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."
科学家们已经解开了考拉在澳大利亚炎热的夏季保持凉爽且不脱水的奥秘。就是考拉通过抱树来防暑。几十年来，人们认为可爱的袋鼠类动物抱在树上，仅仅是因为他们累了,想要找个地方小憩一下。墨尔本大学的研究人员已经对考拉抱树的习惯做出了新的解释。首席研究员娜塔莉·布里斯科说，树干和空气之间有5度温差。考拉通过将自己的整个身体舒展在凉爽的大树枝表面，或者抱住树干来解暑。布里斯科女士说，通过抱树，在酷热天气，考拉可以节省保持自身凉爽所需水分的一半。
Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a surprise to her. She noted that the koalas sat upright in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers.
布里斯科研究了远离墨尔本海岸的一个小岛上37只考拉的习性。她的团队试图确定考拉如何在全球变暖导致的高温环境中生存，她是这个团队的一员。对树木降温效果的观察和结论,让她感到很吃惊。她注意到，当天气凉爽，考拉会直立而坐；当天气变热一些，考拉会抱住树枝； 当天气炎热，考拉就会将自己裹在树干上。考拉甚至会移动到那些拥有更凉爽树干的不同树木上面。她说，树木温度低，可能是因为树木从地下汲取了所需的水分。考拉解暑方法可以用来帮助人类度过酷暑。
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